JDC Ships Matzoth and Medicines to Russia As Part of Large Relief Program

March 1, 1942

NEW YORK (Feb. 27)

Sixty tons of matzoth have been shipped by the Joint Distribution Committee to Soviet Russia to help great numbers of the 600,000 Polish Jews who are now refugees in Asiatic Russia celebrate the Passover holiday, it was announced today by Moses A. Leavitt, Secretary of the organization. Because of wartime regulations no details could be divulged as to the dates or ports of embarkation and destination.

The matzoth are consigned to the Polish Embassy in Kuibyshev for redistribution among the Polish refugee centers throughout Russia. In addition to the matzoth, scheduled to arrive in Russia well in advance of the Passover festival which begins on April 2, the J.D.C. has already shipped a large part of the $30,000 worth of medicines, drugs, surgical dressings and concentrated food products which it is purchasing for refugee relief in Russia. Quantities of sulfanilamide and vitamin tablets are among the medical supplies being shipped, Mr. Leavitt revealed.

In order to provide maximum food value among the medical shipments, the JDC has included such concentrated food products as cod liver oil, cocoa butter, yeast of a high vitamin content and liver extract. As part of its special Passover relief program, Mr. Leavitt said, the JDC has also shipped matzoth to refugees in Portugal, Jamaica, the British West Indies, the Dominican Republic and Haiti.